✯✯✯ David Bowie Gold Label Collection Barbie Doll ✯✯✯

/barbie.mattel.com

I was innocently doing some research on Amazon today, and came across a very interesting Barbie that intrigued me no end... It turns out that she was released this July, as a tribute to both Barbie and David Bowie in his iconic Ziggy Stardust incarnation.

There's not much I could find out about this doll, except she was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" song, which is weird in a way cos Ziggy Stardust came out 3 years later, so why not wait 3 years or dress this one all in silver and give it a mullet... Yeah I know out of the two this one is more iconic so it makes sense really, just a little weird anyhoo, I digress... Back to Barbie..

amazon.co.uk

Her hair is slick back and poofed up, more of a bouffant than a mullet  - It looks similar but not quite, but then again it isn't supposed to be a Bowie replica, it's a tribute piece.

amazon.co.uk

Her make up is beautiful and themed to match the colours in her  jumpsuit, there is no red blush around her temples or cheekbones like Bowie wore but it's very pretty and immediately recognisable regardless, perhaps because she has the "Astral Circle" on her forehead, to match the one David Bowie wore, during this time.  

She's wearing big 70's style earrings depicting a star going through a circle, which again are not "Bowie" but fit in very well to the overall aesthetic of the piece.

amazon.co.uk

Her outfit is almost an exact replica of David Bowie's striped, metallic jumpsuit - As you can see from the picture below it is a really good likeness.

davidbowie.fandom.com

She also comes wearing the same patent looking platform boots as David Bowie wears as part of this outfit.

She is presented in a transparent box, against a background of multiple photographs of David Bowie in his many incarnations over his career.

She is already sold out on Amazon. uk, which is pretty crazy as she's only been out for a few weeks.

Oh well, that's it for now, catch ya later!

I love Lucy "Lucy is Envious" Pink Label Collectors Edition Lucy & Ethel

Google Images 

Based on episode 89 of the Cult classic I Love Lucy Show "Lucy is Envious" from 1954; in which Lucy after exaggerating her wealth and status after being contacted by her former classmate to make a charitable donation, in a bid to impress her, unfortunately Lucy doesn't have the $500 she promised and needs to find a way to make money so with Ethel she takes a job promoting the release of a new film called "Women from Mars".

They end up dressed as Martians and have to "invade" the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building... As you can imagine, mayhem ensues!

Google Images 

Mattel have paid homage to this insane episode with the release of this two Shelly doll pack in 2009.`

The doll's are dressed in replica "Martian" outfits complete with wings and antennas and even their little "Ray Guns" tucked into their belts as Lucy and Ethel wore in the episode.

Barbie Collector.com

The dolls stand at approximately 4 inches high, which adds to the appeal of this set for me, I don't think they would be half as cute if they were Barbie sized.

 They come displayed in a clear plastic box against a backdrop which depicts the entire scene from the episode.

This set looks great displayed - I just love everything about it, from Lucy & Ethel's costumes to the backdrop behind them, and of course their funny little pointy noses and adorable ray guns!

I found these girls while nosing around Barbie Collector.com one day in 2009 and was unable to resist them, I just love strange dolls and they don't come much stranger looking than this pair!

I hit a snag though, I live in the U.K and Barbie Collector only ship to the U.S... I was gutted until one day I was discussing it with a friend of mine who lived in Maryland and he said "Use my address, and I'll send them onto you" - How cool is that?!

Sadly, this is the only way someone like me is able to buy any of Barbie Collectors Dolls, so I try very hard not to look at the site very often, but it is a great way around things providing you have someone in the U.S that you know you can trust.

The other sad thing is that this doll set has been retired by Mattel for several years now, but they can be purchased on Ebay I've discovered and possibly on Amazon (don't quote me on that one!) but if you do go looking on Ebay for these girls expect to pay a lot more than their original $8.00.

If you are interested in browsing Ebay for them, click this link: "Lucy is Envious" and it'll take you straight to the available listings.

have fun,

✨ Barbie & Ken Star Trek Gift Set ✨

This set was released in 1996 to coincide with the 30th Anniversary of the original Star Trek T.V Series and is a Gold Label Edition which means each set is numbered and limited to 10,000 or less having been sold Worldwide.

I guess there's really only two types of people that this Barbie and Ken collector set would appeal to; either the kind of Barbie Collector who loves anything Barbie or a serious Star Trek fan, I'm the type of collector that has very eclectic tastes I also have always loved the original Star Trek T.V Series - it's one of those shows that has been deeply ingrained in my psyche since early childhood.
So of course this set really appealed to me and my sense of kitsch the doll collector and overgrown child in me loved the mini "Crew Members" in their authentic outfits and accessories.

While the Trekkie and the Artist in me loved the design of the box, colour choice, the image of the S.S Enterprise, the images from the cockpit and of course the cardboard cut-outs of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock and the fact that they have used the writing from the title screen from the original series at the bottom of the box.

Both Barbie and Ken have been produced from their Super Star moulds used and sold in the 1990's,
( The Super Star mould was first produced in the 1970's and continued to be produced up until the mid to late 1990's).

Barbie's uniform is modelled on Lt. Uhura's Operations Officer's uniform complete with an Assignment patch with symbol showing her position inside it. She also has the Rank Insignia of her position as Lieutenant around the cuffs of her sleeves.

She has her Federation Star Fleet Tricorder which she keeps hung over her shoulder when not in use and can be opened and closed, she also has a Communicator which she holds in her right hand.

Ken's uniform consists of a gold tunic and black trousers which was modeled on the uniform of a Starfleet Command Officer. He also has his Assignment patch on his chest with the symbol illustrating his position as Command Officer inside it.
The cuffs of Ken's sleeves also denote his rank as Commander. He is holding his Phaser in his right hand and his Communicator in his left, when not in use he can place his Phaser in a fabric loop on the side of his shirt which acts as a holster.

This is displayed inside the box as being open and ready for use but I have read Amazon Reviews which state that the Communicators can also be closed, the same review also stated that the dolls both have holes in their hands with which to hold them.

My dolls have not been removed from their box and will not be either as I love the way it displays with the Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock on The Starship Enterprise along with Barbie and Ken that I cannot bring myself to remove them from it.
Their clothes, made of a fabric that looks like felt, but is more than likely to be Xenylon - an algae based fabric, used for Federation Starfleet uniforms until 2268.

In keeping with Starfleet dress codes being female Barbie would have had a choice of either a tunic and trouser suit or a dress like outfit with regulation black tights and calf length boots. 

Being Barbie, she chose the latter! 

The back of the box shows Barbie and Ken's regulation accessories and has information on each:

Tricorder:

"Specialized state-of-the-art sensing technology available for scientific engineering, scientific and medical applications."

Communicator:

"A personal communications device providing voice transmission from a planetary surface to an orbiting spacecraft and between members of a landing party."

Phaser:

"Handheld weapon used by Starfleet personnel that can be adjusted to a variety of settings including stun, heat and disruption."

Below the photograph is written:

"Join Barbie and Ken as they beam aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the classic Star Trek Series! 

Ready for any mission, Barbie is outfitted with an authentic Star Trek uniform. Her badge and red uniform denote her status as a member of the ship's engineering section. She carries a replica of a tricorder, the multipurpose scientific and technical instrument that incorporates computers, sensors and records in a convenient handheld device. She also carries a replica of a communicator allowing he to contact other Starfleet personnel. Ken wears a gold jersey and badge indicating his position in the Command division. He carries a replica of a phaser - an acronym for PHASed Energy Rectification - which is a directed energy weapon used by Starfleet personnel. 

Lieutenant Barbie and Commander ken join the internationally renowned original crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise: Captain James T. Kirk, First Officer Spock, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Helmsman Hikaru Sulu, Communications Officer Uhura and Navigator Pavel Chekov on a special voyage. In the 30 years since it first aired, Star Trek has inspired generations of fans with Gene Roddenberry's belief that people of various races, genders and planetary origins can work together to build a constructive future for all mankind."

The box also contains a black plastic stand for each doll with name tag, and Gold Label Certificate of Authenticity.

(¯`*•. 1982 Twirly Curls Barbie ¸.•*´¯)

I remember how happy I was to receive Twirly Curls Barbie for Christmas.

 I was seven years old when this doll was released and I guess I was very susceptible to advertising because I can still sing the jingle word for word, I must have sung it so much then that the words have been embedded into my brain more than thirty years later!

We were sleeping over at Nan's that year and I'd already woken up early, gone down my pillowcase -we always had a pillowcase full of presents instead of a stocking.

 I was sitting up in bed surrounded by wrapping paper, munching on the satsuma I'd found at the bottom and looking forward to starting the day smelling of my new Victoria Plum rose scented talcum powder when my Nan came into the room with a cup of tea, some biscuits and a surprise present for me!

I was so excited, it was box shaped, rattled slightly and I couldn't wait to find out what was inside it,

 I eagerly ripped off the paper and "Oh my..."  

There she was beautiful smiling Twirly Curls herself and even better than that ... she was MINE!!

Ebay.co.uk

I've found a copy of the advert, which may be of interest to you, I felt like a little girl again watching it and of course it brought back memories of Christmas when it was still magical - unfortunately the video is not great quality but well it is 32 years old! 

My Twirly Curls has remained one of my prized possession, although over the years I have lost the items she came with and of course her earrings and ring... I put the loss of the chair, brushes and "Twirler" as being in the boxes with my other dolls, dollhouses & furniture which all went missing during our move to Wales, it saddens me but at least I still have my girl.

`

I decided a few years back - around 2008 - to take her out of storage and photograph her so I could upload her photo' to my Flickr Photostream, I was surprised to discover that I was one of those little girls that chew on their Barbie doll's faces - WTF??

I have absolutely no memory of ever doing this and cannot think of one reason when I would have felt the need to do so?!

This of course began a quest to find another, but one in perfect condition... The plan was not to replace my original - that could never happen as I have way too many happy memories wrapped up in her, but to have another as she should have been kept, so I began looking...

Twirly Curls & Ooak Pube Job Barbie

During my teens I went through a phase of doing "hair wraps" I used Twirly as a model for practice, she's still wearing the wrap that started it all!

I took a comparison pic' of her next to the "Pube Job Barbie" I made - Don't ask!

I find it very weird how much the face has changed in just over a decade - I also find it weird why Mattel keep changing the faces I'd love to know why they do.

Anyhoo, my quest came to an end a few months ago, when I won this little girl at the starting price.

Ebay Listing Photo

Even better she came with her "Twirling Wand", Chair, Outfit, Brush and even her Comb!

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Perfect Pair Tomy & Kelly Dolls - Exclusive to David's Bridal

Doing my usual "search for this, find something else, get side-tracked" routine on the internet, I came across this pair of seriously adorable Tomy & Kelly Dolls.

Normally I'm not really a fan of these dolls, but man, this little couple are adorable!

Tomy's afro is just perfect, I've never seen these two as African - American dolls before and boy am I surprised how much it suits them!

I think I've also found a neat thing to do with the ones I have in my "victims box"!

 Although I have no idea how to make Tomy's hair so dam perfect!!

I guess you want to see what I'm raving about now huh? Well ok then...

Diva Starz - Arrival day & Fashion Show (Body size test) and Comparison Pictures.

Original Post, Jul 23, '09 3:25 AM by Herbie for everyone  in Dolls More Dolls.

Miranda is a 12 inch (talking) Diva Starz from 2002 In her original outfit with bag!!

I've been looking for one of these for a while and just kind of found the listing by mistake as the seller had her listed as a Bratz Doll!!??

I won her for 80p with £1.50 P+P

Felt a bit bad when I realised the postage came to £1.85 on her!

Lol until I unwrapped her and found she was wrapped up in one of those sale leaflet things from a budget food store!!

I'm so glad her head didn't get busted in the post :-S

Anyhoo here she is!

      This outfit is an original Mattel Diva Starz outfit, she came to me in this, with the bag too.

As it is the only outfit I have for her I decided to see how some of my other doll's clothes would fit / look on her, after all her body is very similar to a Barbie Doll's.

                               Test photos, trying on outfits for other dolls...

In My Scene Trousers, Barbie top & cheap Barbie boots.

My Scene Trousers, Not sure if the top is official Barbie clothing, the boots are from a cheap Barbie size grab bag I bought recently.  The trousers are a perfect fit, the boots are too but the top although it looks great from the front, is not such a great fit as Barbie is notorious for having a large bust, whereas Diva Starz bust is a lot smaller, which leaves gaps in certain areas between the doll body and the fabric. However, as this top is made of stretch material it is possible to pull it tighter around the doll and secure it with half of it's velcro fastening, although I wouldn't recommend doing that too often as I'm sure the velcro will pick at the fabric eventually, which will mean it will have to be cut smaller (and used for another, smaller doll)  if it is to remain in use. The boots fit the doll very well but are slightly loose against the legs, therefore it is useful to place her in longer trousers, which keep them on better.

Blythe Dress made in China no idea of make label in Chinese!
Boots to fit Licca, Jenny & mokomo dolls

This dress fits her body shape perfectly, however for some reason, on this doll it  seems to lay a  bit flat against the front of her body, which really distracts from the cuteness of it. The shoes are also a very good fit for her, but obviously they look terrible with this dress!

Barbie Fashion Fever Dress

This dress is another good fit although slightly loose and due to Barbie's over development or Diva Starz underdevelopment in the bust area, it doesn't fit nicely against her bust and looks very baggy in that area. 

                                                               
                                                                           ***

And now I come to the Body Comparison Shots, between Diva Starz and a few other Mattel Dolls.

 As sadly there are people out there who love to complain that some of my dolls are obscene (ie. naked or covered in blood made of paint) and so I now have to display warnings before I post some of my pictures online, personally I find this pretty tragic, but meh what can you do?
So here you go... Warning and Jump Break coming up... one thing I would like to point out before I get on with the nude (how else could you really show body comparisons properly?) Body Height / Shape comparison pictures, is if you are offended by undressed dolls, please don't click read more, if however you have no such problems and are interested in seeing the differences, then please read on, if you have clicked "read more" and it did offend you...you have only got yourself to blame! So for the warning...

                                                WARNING - Extreme Dolly Nudity!!!!

Beatrix Blythie couldn't wait to show off her new dress at Retro Lil's Place today!

I did a swap with an Australian Friend on Flickr....

This dress set (it comes with a silver and black cap with skulls on it!) was among the items I received ... is from T.I.B and cost a load lol but hey it's for Blythie right? lol

"I as new dress"!

 The shoes she's wearing were part of a grab bag I got from ebay and are awesome for photos because  when she has them on she can stand all by herself!!

Retro Lil' looks pensive as she awaits customers in her new diner.

"Of course you deserve it after selling all those cookies!"

I think Retro Lil' may need a lesson in cooking hot dogs tough  the one she just served up for Little Susie looks like it may actually be raw!

Photos taken 4th June, 2009.

The Cast:

Beatrix Blythie is an Aston Drake Galleries In The Medieval Mood (Reproduction) Blythe Doll.

Retro Lil' is a Mattel Reproduction of their Ponytail Swimsuit Barbie made in the 1960's.

Little Susie is an Original 1960s Sad Eye Susie Doll.

Ooak Punk Barbie...Still a work in progress

Started this girl in Dec' 2008, and sadly still haven't had the time to cover up the damage to her arms, I was planning to make her a long sleeve something to go over her hands (chewed by previous owner) but sadly time hasn't allowed it yet... definitely one day soon though as now I'm looking at her again, I really want her finished!

Originally published to Dolls More Dolls Group on Multiply 06 Dec' 2008.
 By,

Mattel Diva Starz Doll / Other Mattel Doll Height Comparisons

WARNING EXTREME DOLL NUDITY!!!

 Diva Starz Height & Shape compared to Barbie Fairytopia Doll.

Diva Stars Height/Shape compared to Mattel What's Her Face? Doll.

Diva Starz Compared to my Ooak "Pube-Job" Barbie.

Barbie is from a range dated 1999, although which range I cannot remember - I gave her "pubes" - she was happy.







Original post Dolls More Dolls on Multiply, for Lorraine - July 24 '09, 4:25PM

"What Not To Wear..."

Trinny: "Omg... I can't believe you are wearing that hair with them boots and that belt!"

Susanna: "Yeah she's not even slightly orange like me!"

Trinny: "Must have got dressed in the dark...the 70's are long gone y'know!"

Susanna: "Yeah could of made an effort! .. I mean look at us we're fashion icons!"

Amtoy: "But..but I'm a vintage Amtoy clone doll...what do you expect?"

Trinny: "Well I think you should try the green skirt with the brown flowers, and the purple boots, and you need a lot more make up...imagine Sus' ... she   actually thinks she can get away with the natural look!"

Susanna: "Or the orange blouse with the ruffed sleeves and the brown skirt with the purple stripes and green dots and the pink boots"

Amtoy: "Help Me!!"

*Credit for "Custom  Job" on Barbie goes to Toypincher (Flickr name) a.k.a Simon, who sent her to me*
(I just love her, she makes me laugh every time I look at her!)

Some of my Barbies...Yep I do have some...shock horror!!!

Repro Bargin Barbie!

I Bought this little lady on Ebay a few months back...she was nude but I'd already fallen in love with the dress and bought it with matching shoes for Blythe to wear lol when I got this Barbie I just had to give her this dress instead!
I paid £1.99 for her...woot, the seller said she had a slight split to one of her ears, but when I got her home and checked her out I found out it was a hair that had got wrapped around her earring lol happy me!
She reminds me of my cousin Lorna lol lucky Lorna looking like this doll!

I've named her "Retro Lil'"

She's an exact replica of one Mattel's Ponytail Barbe range of dolls from the 1960s, Like the original she came in a cardboard box, wearing a black and white stripy swimsuit and sunglasses.

This Barbie is from the Expressions of India Series. She's the Special Edition. Roopvathi of Rajasthan Barbie - from 1998.

The word Roopvathi means "Beautiful Lady" which I think sums her up!

Rajasthani Barbie

Dress made to resemble the traditional clothing worn by women in Rajasthan.

I've never taken her out of the box, I keep thinking about it, but still haven't been brave enough yet!

The whole premise of this series is that Barbie has visited India and fallen in love with the Traditional clothing the women wear ... although that doesn't explain why her hair has turned black and judging by the Bhindi in the centre of her brow, she has also got married!!

Still I'm not knocking it...this series of dolls are really beautiful.

(Sale Photo)

Part of the 1998 Dolls of the World series...This one is the Native American Pow Wow Barbie

I fell in love with this one as soon as I saw her...She's one of the Dolls of The World series from the early 1990s. Pow Wow version - with "buckskin" dress, unfortunately she doesn't have her turquoise feather in her hair and is also missing the neck sash :( she didn't come with a box, but she does have her original silver ring and earrings. This Chrissie Doll is vintage, either 1980s or early 1990s. She came to me in a bulk purchase of Barbies, which I bought for use in art pieces. As she's so pretty I had to keep her back and add her to my collection! I'm such a sucker like that!! She's wearing her original earrings, but missing her ring and clothing...oh well! Dorothy Barbie Man I love this doll, she's so much like the real thing...her voice box can get annoying tho' if you keep pressing it (like I did) lol Wizard of Oz I bought her nude and the clothes separate from an American seller, which worked out cheaper than buying her from Ebay U.K. Her Ruby Slippers light up when she talks!! She only says one of 2 things, which can get a bit annoying but she does sound like Judy Garland and well I love her!